Method and means for supporting screen cloth



5 K i DGHICH mom 2 g E5 2 g brags Eeference 1945- I F. F. BElL 2,381,02

METHOD AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SCREEN CLOTH Filed May 11, 1943 PatentedAug. 7, 1945- METHOD AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SCREEN CLOTH Forrest F.Bell, Clinton, Iowa, assignor to'C urtls Companies Incorporated,Clinton, Iowa, a corporatlon of Iowa Application May 11, 1943, SerialNo. 486,535

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and means for supporting plastic screencloth. I

Particularly it is my object to provide a method and means forsupporting plastic screen cloth in a frame or the like in such mannerthat it will be held taut, yet will not be pulled out of shape.

With this and other obiects'in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice whereby the objects contemplated are at-' tained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is an-elevation' ofa frame having sheets of plastic scr'eenjcloth, supported in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a detail-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 3 isan enlarged vertical sectionalview illustrating the position of theholder strip at one stage in its application.

more easily than does wire screen cloth. Many expedients have been triedfor fastening the plastic screen cloth in place in such manner that itwould be kept smooth and tight and would not be pulled out of shape,and, so far as I am aware none of them have been successful prior to thedevelopment of the method and means herein described.

If plastic screen cloth is pulled at the edges and tacked, it will notstay smooth but will be formed into waved strips where the tacks are,and not stretched between them. where my method and means are employedthese disadvantageous results can be avoided.

I provide a support II which may have the shape of an ordinary windowscreen frame. Adjacent the inner edge of each member of the frame; agroove G is formed, which preferably has inclined side walls I! and afiat bottom wall l4 and in one face of-, that groove there is pro-Figure 4 is a similar view showing the holder strip in its finalposition.

of the underside vantages over and above the fact that it can be used inmany-places as a substitute for metal screen cloth. The material is ofvery light weight so that the finished screen cloth is much lighter thanmetal screen cloth. The material is itself translucent and the plasticscreen cloth transmits more light than metal screen cloth of the samemesh. The plastic screen cloth does 'not require the painting orlacquering which is essential for the preservation of wire products. Theplastic product does not corrode or stain the frame as ordinary wirecloth is likely to do. There may be therefore a permanent field forplastic s'creen cloth. It is important, therefore,

that suitable means be provided for mounting it on a support, andparticularly on a frame. V

It has been found exceedingly difiicult to put plastic screen cloth in aframe such as might be used on windows or screen doors, and to keep thecloth taut, as it pulls out of shape much be changed without departingfrom the principal features of my invention, but I have found, afternumerous experiments, that a groove with inclined walls is the easiestto work with and affords the 'best ultimate results. A curved wall willdo under some circumstances. A

For cooperating with the groove G and the edge of the strip N of plasticscreen cloth, I provide a holding strip indicated generally at S, havinga portion [5 adapted to press the screen cloth into the groove G and tosubstantially fit the groove and having approximately the same crosssectional shape as the groove. That part of the portion l5 which restsadjacent the bottom H of the groove is roughened as, for instance, bylengthwise corrugations Ii for better gripping the screen cloth.'

The holding strip 8 is provided with flanges H which, when the holdingstrip is in screenholding position, fit against the support alongsidethe groove and are received in the rabbet II.

The holding strip S may be of such size that its outer face is flushwith the'face of the frame or support H, or the strip may be so shapedthat it projects a little from the support II for ornamental or otherpurposes.

One of the flanges I! may be corrugated on its underside as indicated onll to better grip the screen cloth'particularly during theinstallationof the holding strip.

I shall now describe the method of applying the holding strip forsecuring the screen cloth.

to the support. The edge of the screen cloth is laid across the groove Gand one of the flanges I1 is pressed against the screen cloth in therabbet -IZ to grip the screen cloth between the flange I1 and the bottomof the rabbet I2 as, for instance, illustrated in Figure 3. Then thestrip S is rocked in such a way as to force the screen cloth into thegroove G between the portion l5 of the holding strip and the support II.The position of the parts midway during the process of pressing thestrip S into holding position is shown in Figure 3. By pressing theflange H against the screen cloth while the portion I5 is being pressedinto place, I find that I can hold the screen cloth and draw it tightand smooth without any substantial distortion.

I prefer to thus grip the edge of the screen cloth between one of theflanges l1 and the support H at the bottom of the rabbet l2, forinstance as shown in Figure 3. The screen cloth may be gripped betweenthe side of the part l5 and the support, and the strip S may then berocked into place. I have even found that the holding strip 8 can bepushed straight into the groove without the rocking movement mentionedand, in many instances, the screen cloth will be pressed properly intoplace and good results can be obtained. In pushing the portion l5 of theholding strip straight into the groove, it is better to be careful tohave the face I5 farthest from the free edge of the screen cloth topress the screen cloth tightly against the complementary face while theportion I5 is being pushed to the bottom of the groove.

It will be understood that the holding strip S can be tacked'into placeor fastened to the support or frame H by means of brads or screws 19.

The particular form of groove and holding strip herein illustrated arethe preferred forms, but I have found that I can sometimes use groovesof different shapes and holding strips of difl'erent shapes. Thecorrugations l8 and It may be omitted, but I prefer to use them. Ibelieve the corrugations l8 hold the screen cloth in position betterduring the application of the holding strip and the corrugations I6 holdthe screen cloth in position better in the final installation.

I intend to cover by my claims any other modifications in structurewhich may reasonably come within the scope of my invention and myappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a sheet of screen cloth or the like, with meansfor holding it, said means comprising a support, having a groove, andhaving in one face of the groove a rabbet and a holder strip pressingthe cloth into the groove, said strip having a portion substantiallyfitting the groove and a flange fitting in the rabbet,

2. A method of securing flexible material such, for instance, as screencloth, to a frame having a groove in each side member thereof, includingthe steps of gripping the cloth by a holding strip against such memberof the frame alongside the groove in such member and on the side of thegroove farthest from the frame opening, and

rocking the strip for forcing the cloth into the groove withoutreleasing the grip.

FORREST F. BEIL.

